Recent books on sustainability and the environment

Thinking globally and acting locally. These titles cover topics as big as: who’s going to steer the ship on global policy around our environment? There are perspectives from scientists, activists, and politicians as they tackle the big questions while others give inspiration about what you can do in your own home to have a positive impact. Will the issues we face as a planet be solved from the top or the bottom? Or both?

Positive energy homes : creating passive houses for better living / Robin Brimblecombe and Kara Rosemeier.
“Positive energy homes enable people to live healthy and comfortable lives with energy left over to share. Creating a house you love that produces surplus energy is surprisingly easy with a thorough understanding of how buildings work and careful attention to detail in construction. Positive Energy Homes provides home owners, architects, and builders with an understanding of the principles and technical details of building these houses. The Passive House standard, with its well-proven track record, forms the basis for creating positive energy homes.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Hot, hungry planet : the fight to stop a global food crisis in the face of climate change / Lisa Palmer.
“Journalist Lisa Palmer has traveled the world for years documenting the cutting-edge innovations of people and organizations on the front lines of fighting the food gap. Hot, Hungry Planet focuses on three key concepts that support food security and resilience in a changing world: social, educational, and agricultural advances; land use and technical actions by farmers; and policy nudges that have the greatest potential for reducing adverse environmental impacts of agriculture while providing more food.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The seasons alter : how to save our planet in six acts / Philip Kitcher and Evelyn Fox Keller.
“Philip Kitcher and Evelyn Fox Keller tackle some of the thorniest questions facing mankind today: Is climate change real? Is climate change as urgent as the “scientists” make it out to be? How much of our current way of life should we sacrifice to help out a generation that won’t even be born for another hundred years? Who would pay for the enormous costs of making the planet “green?” What sort of global political arrangement would be needed for serious action?…” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Climate of hope : how cities, businesses, and citizens can save the planet / Michael Bloomberg, Carl Pope.
“From Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former head of the Sierra Club Carl Pope comes a manifesto on how the benefits of taking action on climate change are concrete, immediate, and immense… In Climate of Hope, Bloomberg and Pope offer an optimistic look at the challenge of climate change, the solutions they believe hold the greatest promise, and the practical steps that are necessary to achieve them. Writing from their own experiences, and sharing their own stories from government, business, and advocacy, Bloomberg and Pope provide a road map for tackling the most complicated challenge the world has ever faced.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Client Earth / Martin Goodman and James Thornton ; with a foreword by Brian Eno.
“Who will stop the planet from committing ecological suicide? …Whoever, environmental laws need to be enforceable and enforced. Step forward a fresh breed of passionately purposeful environmental lawyers. They provide new rules to legislatures, see that they are enforced, and keep us informed. They tackle big business to ensure money flows into cultural change, because money is the grammar of business just as science is the grammar of nature. At the head of this new legal army stands James Thornton, who takes governments to court, and wins. And his client is the Earth.” –Publisher’s description, adapted. (Syndetics)

The energy wise workplace : practical and cost-effective ideas for a sustainable and green workplace / Jeff Dondero.
“Although many people desire to do their part and play a role in the conservation of energy and resources at their workplace most think that it is harder to conserve at work due to circumstances beyond their control, and aren’t aware of how, which or in what ways they can contribute to change… The Energy Wise Workplace provides practical suggestions and innovative ways for increasing the environmental and technological aspects of an efficient office, as well as improving productivity and work environment to keep employees happy and healthy and at the same time saving money.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Greywater, green landscape : how to install simple water-saving irrigation systems in your yard / Laura Allen.
“Keep your lawn and garden lush without wasting resources by capturing and recycling the greywater that drains from your sink, shower, and washing machine. This accessible and detailed guide walks you through each step of planning for and installing a variety of greywater systems, including laundry-to-landscape and branched drain gravity-fed systems. After identifying greywater sources in your home and estimating flow rate, you’ll learn to pinpoint where to redirect the wastewater for the greatest benefit. No matter which system you decide to build, you’ll have the information to construct it yourself or move forward with confidence to hire a professional.” (Syndetics summary)

Confessions of a recovering environmentalist / Paul Kingsnorth.
“Paul Kingsnorth was once an activist, an ardent environmentalist. He fought against rampant development and the depredations of a corporate world that seemed hell-bent on ignoring a looming climate crisis in its relentless pursuit of profit. But as the environmental movement began to focus on ‘sustainability’ rather than the defence of wild places for their own sake and as global conditions worsened, he grew disenchanted with the movement that he once embraced. Provocative and urgent, iconoclastic and fearless, this ultimately hopeful book poses hard questions about how we have lived and should live.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

No dig organic home & garden : grow, cook, use & store your harvest / Charles Dowding & Stephanie Hafferty.
“No dig organic gardening saves time and work. It requires an annual dressing of compost to help accelerate the improvement in soil structure and leads to higher fertility and less weeds. No dig experts Charles Dowding and Stephanie Hafferty, explain how to set up a no dig garden, including how to: * Make compost and enrich soil * Learn skills you need to sow and grow annual and perennial veg * Harvest and prepare food year round * Make natural cosmetics, cleaning products, and garden preparations.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)